Middle East Kingdoms

Arabic States

Islamic Aleppo

Ancient Syria in general was
a patchwork of city states that were all eventually subsumed within various
great empires or their declining remnants. The region was conquered from the
Eastern Roman
empire by the Islamic
empire between 638 and 640 under Khaled ibn al-Walid. Later in the same century,
the Umayyads moved the capital of the empire to the ancient city of
Damascus, making
Islamic Syria the centre of Islamic
power.

Ancient Aleppo began as one of the
world's oldest inhabited settlements in the eleventh century BC, It has been
continuously inhabited since around 5000 BC. Strategically located on the trade
route from the Euphrates Valley to the Mediterranean, it prospered as one of the
northern Syrian city states from around the middle of the third millennium BC.

634

The Islamic
invasion of the
Eastern Roman region of Syria begins in 634, with Arab troops emerging
into the Levant from the southern deserts, surprising the Byzantine forces
which are stationed along the regular line of defence facing the
Persians.
Between then and 638, several battles are fought across the region until the
Byzantines have been forced northwards.
Syria quickly becomes the centre of the
growing empire.

Abbasid
Caliph al-Mahdi commands
Al-Fadl ibn Saleh ibn Ali al-Abbassi to take the post of wali of al-Jazira, which
lies to the north of Damascus (he is deposed around 780, and is sent to
quell a rebellion in
Egypt
in 785).

868 - 874

Hamdan ibn Hamdun

Hamdanid dynasty founder.

874 - 916

al-Husayn ibn
Hamdan

Son. Wali of Mardin in south-west Anatolia (890).

909

Islamic
rule over Syria
fragments, with independent rulers emerging in several areas. By now the
Aghlabids
have lost all prestige in the eyes of their people. Ifriqiyya is conquered by the
Fatamids, who quickly also conquer
Morocco, Syria,
Algeria, and
Arabia.

Abbasid control of
Egypt
proves to be short-lived when the country falls under the control of the
Mameluke
dynasty of Turkic governors who are allowed to rule in a semi-independent
manner. From 935, under the Turkic slave soldier, Muhammad ibn Tughj al
Ikhshid, Egypt also gains control of
Palestine
and Syria, and Damascus
is ruled directly until 943. Then it is governed by the Hamdanids briefly
before they seize control in 946 under Ali I Sayfud Dawla from his base at
Aleppo.

967

The tyrannical Nasir ad-Duala is deposed by his own family, but his
descendants continue to rule on Mosul until 990. Mosul is subsequently
divided by the Marwanids and Uqailids.

967 - 980

Adid ad-Daula

989 - 997

Abul Tahir
Ibrahim ibn al-Hasan

989 - 997

Abu Abdillah al-Husayn
ibn al-Hasan

Brother.

Hamdanid Emirs of AleppoAD 944 - 1015

The Hamdanids were a dynasty of Shia Muslims who emerged in the Al-Jazirah
region in the late ninth century under Hamdan ibn Hamdun. In 943 they seized
control of Syria.

Northern Syria
was taken from the
Ikhshidids
of Egypt. Emir Sayfud Dawla became a celebrated foe of the
Byzantines, but he was
largely unsuccessful against the revival of Eastern Roman power, and his son experienced
devastating defeats, at one point with Aleppo and Homs themselves falling, though they were retained
by the payment of tribute. Aleppo had been under the dominion of various
empires since the ninth century BC, having previously been the regionally
powerful kingdom of Yamkhad, while
the Hamdanids also extended their authority to Mosul in northern Iraq.

935 - 943

Abbasid control of
Egypt
proves to be short-lived when the country falls under the control of the
Mameluke
dynasty of Turkic governors who are allowed to rule in a semi-independent
manner. From 935, under the Turkic slave soldier, Muhammad ibn Tughj al
Ikhshid, Egypt also gains control of
Palestine
and Syria, and Damascus
is ruled directly until 943. Then it is governed by the Hamdanids under Ali I Sayfud Dawla.

Sayfud Dawla eyes a much bigger prize than Aleppo. He wins the support of
the local tribe of the Banu Kilab and seizes Aleppo, presumably as a domain
of his own rather than a governorship. The following year he attacks and
seizes Damascus, despite being rebuffed twice by the
Ikhshidids.
He also manages to advance as far as Ramla in
Syria (now in
Israel),
but thereafter is forced to agree peace terms with the Ikhshidids.

The citadel at Aleppo supplied Ali I with a powerful defensive
position from which he hoped to expand his domains, although his
seizure of Damascus proved to be short-lived

953

In conflict against the
Byzantine empire in almost every year between 950 and his death, Sayfud Dawla
now wins a notable victory near Germanikeia in the Taurus Mountains (modern
Kahramanmaraş in Turkey).
The patrikios, Leo Maleinos, is killed, while General Bardas Phocas
the Elder is badly wounded.

958

The Byzantines
under Leo Phocas, brother of Emperor Nicephorus II Phocas, end a run of
victories by Sayfud Dawla after he is ambushed and heavily defeated at Raban.
Sayfud Dawla does not regain the initiative and in 962 his palace outside
Aleppo is even sacked.

967 - 991

Sharif I Sa'dud Dawla

969

Antioch is lost to the
Byzantine
empire, taken by Michael Bourtzes and Peter the Eunuch on behalf of Emperor
Nikephoros II Phokas. The city becomes the seat of a doux who
commands the forces of the local themes which are vital for holding onto
this eastern border region. In the same year the
Fatamids occupy
Egypt
and gain much of Syria along with it.

991 - 1002

Said Saidud Dawla

1002 - 1004

Ali II

1002 - 1004

Sharif II

1004 - 1009

Lu'lu

Regent 1002-1004.

1003 - 1004

To
help prevent the Byzantine conquest of a weakened Aleppo, the Hamdanids
place it under the suzerainty of the
Fatamids
of Tunisia and Egypt. The Fatamids depose the Hamdanids.

Turkic
invasions see Syria conquered fairly rapidly. Abaaq al-Khwarazmi is a general
under the command of Malik Shah I, the Seljuq
great sultan, but Damascus
quickly becomes the capital of a newly independent state (either an emirate
or the more grand sultanate) under the general, making him the first Seljuq
to gain independence from his overlord. Syria itself remains under the
control of the great Sultan.

Tutush I of Damascus is
able to take control of Syria as a whole, securing it from his brother,
Seljuq Great Sultan
Malik Shah. His control is temporary, and he is restricted back in Damascus
the following year, It takes until 1094 before he can reclaim Syria and
secure his title as sultan of Aleppo.

Duqaq, son of Tutush, inherits
Damascus, but he is the
younger of Tutush's sons. His older brother, Radwan, rebels at the idea of
vassal status and instead seizes Aleppo, splitting the recently reunited
Syrian domains of Tutush. Confusingly, another version of the story has
Duqaq inheriting only the Jezirah and living with Radwan in Aleppo until it
is he who revolts and seizes Damascus for himself. Given that Duqaq is the
younger of the two, the latter version is probably more likely.

A stone relief of Seljuq cavalry, which swept through Persia,
northern Mesopotamia, Syria, and Anatolia in the eleventh
century

The First Crusade finds a divided
Islamic empire governed
by the Seljuq Turks,
and quickly and forcefully carves a large swathe of territory out of it.
Rather than unite, the various local rulers all end their internecine
squabbles and return home to defend their own domains. Coastal Syria is conquered by the Crusaders of
Outremer, with the states of
Edessa,
Antioch, and
Tripoli being
created.

1099 - 1287

Syria is conquered by
Crusaders.
Sections of it are re-conquered by the
Mameluke
Sultan Baybars in 1268, while the remainder falls in 1287.

Following the death of Toghtekin, Zangi takes Aleppo from
the squabbling Ortoqid emirs, greatly increasing the territory under his
control and preventing Syria from being opened up to the
Crusaders.

Zangid Atabegs of AleppoAD 1127/28 - 1181

The Zangid Atabegs (or Atabeks) were Turkic governors (atabegs) in northern
Syria, administering the region on behalf of the
Seljuq sultan, Mahmud
II. Once the territory of Crusader
Edessa to the east of the Euphrates had been re-conquered, the atabegs
under Zangi I were appointed to govern Syria from Aleppo.
One of the more notable men to enter Zangi's service was Najm ad-Din Ayyub,
a prominent Kurdish noble who had just become a father to Salah al-Din Yusuf
Ibn Ayyub, more popularly known as Saladin. Najim moved his family to Aleppo
around the time of Saladin's birth, and it was there that the future founder
of the
Ayyubid dynasty served under Zagi's successor, Ismail Nur al-Din.

Following the death of Zangi, Aleppo and Damascus were controlled by his
successor and son, Nur ad-Din, while Nur ad-Din's brother gained
Mosul & Jazira.
Nur ad-Din was a very capable leader, aided by his Kurdish military commander,
Asad ad-Din Shirkuh. Together they presented a strong front against the
Crusaders, taking Edessa
and carving chunks out of the principality of
Antioch. They also
secured
Egypt from the Crusaders, although this led to the creation of an
independent sultanate there which ultimately gobbled up Aleppo and Damascus.

Following the death of Toghtekin, Zangi takes Aleppo from
the squabbling Ortoqid emirs, greatly increasing the territory under his
control and preventing Syria from being opened up to the
Crusaders.

The citadel in Aleppo rose to the height of its importance under
the Zangids, and was prison to many titled Crusaders

1144

Zangi becomes a hero to the Muslim world when he captures the
county
of Edessa from the
Crusaders.

1146

Upon Zangid's assassination at the hands of a slave, his sons divide the
state between them, with Nur ad-Din gaining Aleppo and the
elder Ghazi gaining
Mosul & Jazira. Breaking up the state into small rival
principalities means that the Crusaders are able to recapture Edessa
for two months in the immediate aftermath of the division.

Prince Raymond of
Antioch is killed by Asad ad-Din
Shirkuh, an important Kurdish military commander who serves under Nur ad-Din.

1150 - 1159

Count Joscelin
of Edessa is
captured and imprisoned in Aleppo until his death in 1159 when Nur ad-Din
conquers the remnants of the Christian county.

1154

The Second Crusade besieges
Damascus
with support from Christian Jerusalem.
With the city apparently ready to capitulate, the Crusaders
switch their main attack against a fresh section of the city walls and are
driven back by the combined forces of Damascus and
Aleppo. The Muslim victory does not
benefit the Burids at all, as Nur ad-Din assumes control, adding it to his
Aleppo territory.

1171 - 1174

The caliph dies, ending
Fatamid rule of
Egypt and leaving the country in the control of Saladin,
under the suzerainty of Nur ad-Din. The latter's death in 1174 allows
Saladin to assert his full control over Egypt, becoming the first
Ayyubid
sultan. He also takes overall control of Damascus, forcing Mahmud's eleven
year-old son and successor to flee to Aleppo.

Ismail is murdered by his relation, Masud I of
Mosul and Aleppo
is ruled by Sinjar. In 1183, Saladin
conquers Aleppo, taking it out of Sinjar's control with the
creation of an Ayyubid subsidiary dynasty in
Damascus.

1250

Following a siege, Aleppo is captured and destroyed by the
Mongols while the
sultan of
Egypt,
al-Muazzam, is commanding there. Unusually, the defeated defenders are
allowed to live.

1260

The
Mongol army marches
on Aleppo and it quickly falls (within a week). This time, most of the inhabitants
are killed or sold into slavery and the Great Mosque and the defensive Citadel are
razed. When the army arrives at
Damascus
the city surrenders immediately as Sultan Yusuf has already fled to Gaza. He
is captured and killed while a prisoner, but Baybars of
Egypt sends a Mameluke army which inflicts a defeat on the Mongols at
the Battle of Ain Jalut. Damascus is freed five days later and within a
month most of Syria is in Baybars' hands.

1412

Burji Sultan
Nasir-ad-Din Faraj is accompanied by
Abbasid
Caliph al Mustain Billah on his campaign against the rebellious amirs
(governors) of Aleppo and Tripoli. Faraj is defeated, perhaps unexpectedly,
at Lajjun on 25 April 1412 and the sultanate is plunged into a leadership
crisis. Caliph al Mustain is captured by the rebels and, after a great deal
of discussion about who should be proclaimed sultan in Faraj's place, they
chose Caliph al Mustain himself. Faraj is formally deposed, and al Mustain
takes his place on the understanding that he remains caliph if he is deposed
as sultan.

The coins pictured here are typical of those that were issued
by the Mameluke Burjis in Egypt during a little over a century
of rule

Nawruz al-Hafizi receives the Syrian provinces and al Mustain returns to
Egypt with two prominent nobles, Shaykh al-Mahmudi and Baktamur Djillik.
Shaykh puts into action his plan to usurp the sultanate, which he does on
6 November 1412. Now as Sultan al-Mu'ayyad Sayf-ad-Din Tatar I, he also
removes al Mustain from his position as caliph. Nawruz al-Hafizi's decision
to declare war against Tatar for this unlawful act seems to produce no
concrete result.